Blizzard has shifted its weekly hero banning announcement to Monday, instead of Sunday at the close of the Overwatch League as it was at the beginning of the season. Their decision to marry the different hero pools between competitive play within Overwatch, and the professional play of Overwatch League, has widely been regarded as a smart decision that allowed players to operate in parity, regardless of how they were playing Overwatch.
That being said, there are once again the same DPS heroes on the chopping block for this week; the same heroes that continue to be banned based on their ability to accurately and decisively eliminate foes from a distance. The good old hit scan heroes of Widowmaker, and McCree.
Overwatch Competitive and 2020 Overwatch League New Hero Bans
🛡️ Reinhardt
⚔️ Widowmaker, McCree
💉 Brigitte pic.twitter.com/f9eJSdtaKJ— Naeri X 나에리 (@OverwatchNaeri) April 13, 2020
Heroes are determined their style based on how their projectiles act; some heroes have weapons that operate in a beam, others shoot projectiles that have a travel time determined by where the shooter is aiming, and their target, and other heroes have rounds that instantly impact wherever the user is aiming. This final segment amounts to hit scan heroes, and they are a consistent thorn in the side of some Overwatch players. Their ability to hold an angle or challenge a defense with little more than fantastic aim has frustrated many tanks, and even more support players.
Their strengths have been their biggest weakness in light of the weekly banning; McCree and Widowmaker are consistently removed from play, time and again, leaving users with less than ideal counterparts such as Ashe or Bastion; Baptiste and Soldier: 76 can also be used in a pinch, but they offer nowhere near the level of dynamic play as McCree or Widowmaker. Many other heroes are considered to be hit scan, yet due to the spread of their bullets are typically viewed as less than ideal unless the composition has been set up for it.
On the tank side of this week, Reinhardt is once again sitting on the sidelines, meaning that we all have one less shield to deal with. Orisa is more than capable of replacing the shield for the team to push behind, and D. Va coming back is sure to make the main tank’s life a bit easier.
Finally, the divisive support hero Brigitte is sitting on the sidelines with her mentor this week, meaning one more shield (although far smaller) is getting out of play for the time being.
All things considered, it may be frustrating for many to see hit scan continue to be banned for a week while other heroes get a pass, such as Mei. Yet the system is working as intended; it continues to shake up the stale meta’s that we would have to sit through for months at a time.
